Collecting
by OrangeSea
Summary: Jareth is clearly up to something, but why he'd need to kidnap Sarah is anybody's guess. Sort of sequel to It's Not About the Story.
1. Chapter 1

Well, this will definitely be the longest thing I've posted here by the time it is done. Sequel to "It's Not About the Story" and yes, I still don't own the Labyrinth or any of its inhabitants. I do own Dan, though.

I've sorta revamped Chapter 1. Hopefully its more interesting now.

* * *

Sarah woke up to light shining in her face and her alarm blaring. With a grumble she rolled over and lurched out of bed, bleary eyed and not particularly looking forward to work. She made her bed in a daze, carefully smoothing over the navy blue bed covers and depositing a couple fancy silver decorative pillows on top, only slightly askew. In the bathroom she brushed her teeth, vowed to buy a new brand of toothpaste as soon as possible, and eventually pulled a brush through her hair. Despite the fact that she vowed to pay more attention to her daily wardrobe, Sarah found herself yanking on the shirt she found first and a pair of pants that didn't clash too terribly.

She finally exited the bedroom to head into the kitchen for some coffee and cereal to revive herself with. She started up the coffee first in her little single cup coffee maker, then moved over to the fridge. The milk was almost empty so she gave it a tentative sniff to make sure it was still good. Satisfied it wouldn't kill her, she dumped it in the bowl with her Captain Crunchberry cereal, tossed in a spoon, and grabbed her steaming cup of coffee before she headed into the living room.

She found the Goblin King lounging on her sofa looking particularly content with himself. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

They had grown relatively comfortable with each others presence. Sarah had come to accept his random appearances, but the familiarity had also given her enough knowledge to know that the particular expression he wore was one to be wary of. She told him good morning, as though his sudden presence was nothing surprising, sat next to him on the sliver of couch he had left open, and proceeded to eat her cereal. He smiled and returned the greeting.

Sarah turned the morning weather on to fill the following silence. When she was done she turned it off again and stood up to head back into the kitchen to clean out her cereal bowl.

"A moment of your time, precious thing?" Sarah tried not to snort at the little nickname. She wondered if he just used it to annoy her.

Keeping her voice light she responded from the kitchen, "Sure, I've got a minute or two before work."

She didn't know when he appeared behind her, or how, but suddenly his voice was within inches of her ear as he whispered silkily, "I may need more than a moment, truthfully. You see, you are to be held hostage by the Goblin King for the next thirteen hours or so."

She felt his hand on her arm and inhaled sharply with surprise. She spun around and away from his touch to glare at him with an expression she reserved for him when he was being particularly ostentatious. Without thinking she brandished her milky cereal spoon at him as she spoke.

"What on earth are you talking about?"

He smiled in a smug, predatory sort of way and gave her a very pointed looking over. With a flush Sarah looked down to realize she was now wearing an elaborate dress made of emerald green silk. Her suddenly empty hand went up to pat her hair, which was teased up into the kind of elaborate style that should have taken a costumer at least an hour and a half to pull off. It even had sequins and lace braided into it. She looked up just in time to see him whisper her name and feel herself be transported against her will.

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Dana was convinced she was born in both the wrong time and the wrong gender. She insisted her friends call her "Dan" because, despite the fact that Dana was a gender neutral name, she determined that "Dan" drove the point across much better. She was 14 years old and her mother hoped desperately that she would outgrow the whole 'tomboy' phase. Preferably -before- the child chopped off the long beautiful blonde hair her mother had been forcing her to grow since she first sprouted hair at all.

Dan refused to wear dresses or skirts and often crafted swords out of tree branches. In her free time she banished imaginary monsters and saved damsels in distress. It never occurred to her to want to be the damsel and wear the pretty outfits. She appreciated pretty outfits well enough but much preferred them on those she saved, not herself. When people pointed out the inconsistency in her logic they were promptly ignored. Occasionally, when she felt playful, she would try to challenge them to a dual.

One night, Dan challenged her grandmother to a dual for insisting she wear a frilly white dress to her cousins wedding. It wasn't a particularly playful challenge, however. Her grandmother had even purchased the offending dress and, to top everything off, Dan's own mother was insisting she wear it as well. At the issuing of her challenge, Dan's mother banished her to her own bedroom like a naughty child and it was everything Dan could do to ascend the staircase regally and -not- slam the door shut.

The dress sat on the bed, taunting her. She had been told she could not leave the room until she was wearing it. Life was not fair. Not at all. Rather than put on the offending garment, Dan flopped into her computer chair and reached for her favorite book. If they insisted she wear the dress to leave than she just wouldn't leave.

She smiled down at the book. It was red leather, worn from much usage, and had the word "Labyrinth" sprawled across the cover in gold letters. There was no author or publishing company but Dan had never been observant enough to notice that. She did, however, have the entire story memorized from cover to cover. It was her favorite fantasy, after all. The entire story was about a young girl who had been given special powers to protect the innocent. The girl spent the entire story running through an enormous labyrinth fraught with peril to save the beautiful princess from the wicked King. At the end of the story the hero overcomes the King and declares herself his equal. The valiant hero then grants the beautiful princess her freedom and they live happily ever after.

The book was rather vague about happily ever after part, but books always were and Dan was beginning to fill in the gaps herself. She was on the last chapter again and she mouthed the words to herself as she read, a smile tugging on her lips. Her mothers voice broke the trance, demanding she get ready or she would be left alone for the wedding, the reception, and she could most definitely plan to stay in her room for the next month.

Dan weighed her options and finally let out a defeated sigh. She changed into the lacy white confection. She refused to take her hair out of the practical braid she always kept it in, though, and made a point of putting on her slightly over sized combat boots. Her mother detested the boots but knew well enough than to try and separate them from Dan. She had learned the hard way that her daughter would suffer endless groundings and go completely barefoot in protest if her favorite boots were taken from her.

Dan looked herself over in the full length mirror that had resided on her closet door since she was a baby. She wrinkled her nose at her reflection and said quite wistfully. "I wish..." She considered. What did she wish for?

"I wish I really was the hero." and after considering her impending evening she added as an after thought. "Right NOW!"

Her reflection stared back at her with an expression that perfectly displayed the dejected way she felt. She let out the long suffering sigh of mistreated teenagers everywhere and turned to head out the door. She put her hand on the doorknob and was knocked out of her thoughts by a scream. All of the hairs sprang up on the back of her neck and she whipped around to run to the window.

She nearly hung completely out of the window and watched as the most beautiful woman she had ever seen was seized by a man. The woman had clearly been the one screaming. She had long flowing dark hair and large eyes. She wore one of the most elaborate dresses Dan had ever seen and was currently trying to struggle against the man who had grabbed her. And he was a sight all himself! He wore leggings that bordered on indecent and the most asymmetrical leather coat Dan had ever seen. His blonde hair was teased to a surreal pouf and everything about him screamed "otherworldly".

Dan stood rooted in her window, unable to move momentarily as she watched the blonde man drag the beautiful woman into what could only be a portal tucked between two trees in her front yard. Dark indistinguishable shapes followed the pair and Dan forced herself out of her paralysis. She pushed herself from the window and practically flew out of her room, down the stairs, and out the front door. If she had been paying any attention at all she would have heard her grandmothers particularly negative opinion of her boots and her mothers surprised "Oh" that she had actually put the white dress on.

She didn't expect to see a portal when she got outside. The fact that it was still there had barely registered when she plunged through it.

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Well, there she is, the first chapter. Please review, I know I've tainted you're lovely Labyrinth with an OC, but I tried to make her as not-horrible as I could.


	2. Chapter 2

Well, here's the next chapter! Sneakily uploaded at work because my computer is off being repaired *sob* Apparently they have to -order in- an enter key to put on the damn thing. You'd think they would have extras or something, because they just POP OFF FOR NO REASON.

Not that I'm bitter or anything... heaven forbid. Anyway. The only one I own is still Dan. Oh, and a big thank you to the folk who've already started reviewing! You're awesome! I love reviews!

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When Jareth appeared on the little hill overlooking the Labyrinth it was to find Dan furiously hacking away at a tree limb with a rock. It didn't even look like a particularly sharp rock. He contemplated coughing or something to get her attention but ultimately decided it would sound too undignified to bother. He simply waited.

She eventually caught sight of him and gave a strangled sort of cry, stumbling onto her backside.

"You!" She cried, scrambling to her feet awkwardly.

Jareth smirked in a pointy, feline sort of way and gave her a mock bow. "Indeed, me. Now, may I ask what you are doing in my kingdom, little girl?"

She bristled noticeably at his nickname for her. He watched as recognition clicked into place and she stepped forward, attempting to look threatening. She hadn't managed to take down the tree limb she was hacking at, but instead brandished a much smaller stick in his general direction. "Let her go, you monster!"

He arched a brow at her, thoroughly unimpressed by her display. "Who?"

"The princess! I saw you drag her away. Set her free, this instant!"

He laughed at her brashness. It wasn't a particularly jolly laugh and it mostly just went a long ways to upsetting her more. He stepped forward, well within the range of her impromptu weapon, and leaned as close as he dared, which was unnervingly close. "It doesn't work like that. If you want her, you will have to come and get her." He cocked his head to the side and held out a crystal to her. "Forget about her and I'll give you this."

She looked at the crystal with distrust. "What is it?" He shook his head and laughed.

"Do they all ask?" He mused to himself. "Just turn it this way and see for yourself." He twisted the crystal in his palm and she thought she caught a glimpse of half formed shapes in its depth. She refused to look closer.

"I won't forget her."

"Even for your dreams?" She shook her head vehemently so he flicked his wrist and suddenly held up a clock with the strangest face she'd ever seen. "You have exactly thirteen hours." and then he disappeared. In a puff of glitter, of all things. Dan made a face and tried to wipe the glitter off of her annoyingly lacy white dress. Now she was in a dress -and- sparkling. It wasn't exactly how she expected to start her first adventure.

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While Jareth was away, Sarah fumed in mute fury. Mute because it didn't do her a whole hell of a lot of good yelling at a bunch of goblins. They mostly laughed and tossed chickens at her. She refused to admit to herself that part of her anger stemmed from the fact that this was most definitely not how she expected to spend her next visit in the Labyrinth; and more specifically inside the Goblin King's castle.

Jareth had drug her through some lawn in the middle of suburbia and then deposited her in his throne room without a single word. He bound her to the damn room, and lord knows he was going to hear about that later, then disappeared. She glared peevishly at the glitter his departure had left behind, as though it would summon him to her if she willed it.

It didn't, of course. After a minute of pouting Sarah decided to take matters into her own hands. Jareth may have been hiding most of his power from her to have surprised her so thoroughly, but he didn't seem to realize how much power she had hid from him. It didn't do to let someone like the Goblin King know your poker hand, after all.

She concentrated on the spell that caged her in the loud throne room. With a bit of wheedling she was able to expand it. She snarled in frustration that she was still bound to the Underground, but with a well practiced twist she disappeared from the room entirely.

A nearby goblin blinked its large eyes at cloud of glitter she created as she left and turned to his companion. "She allowed to poof, like King?"

His companion shrugged while she took aim at a chicken across the room, "Dunno. King know she poof?" She let the little rock fly and the first goblin was so distracted by the entertainment it provided that he didn't answer.

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Oh Jareth, what are you up to? Leaving poor Sarah alone with the goblins is never a good idea. This chapter really outlines where this story is a sequel to 'Its Not About the Story" Sarah has powers like his, which they both know, but apparently they've both been holding back a bit.


	3. Chapter 3

Oh man, sorry guys. Life got busy, but here's an update!

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Dan tromped her way up to the walls of the labyrinth and was very grateful for her trusty combat boots. She couldn't imagine trekking through worlds unknown with ridiculous little kitten heals her grandma seemed so fond of trying to buy for her. When she reached the wall she saw that there was something of a garden in front of it. It was a bit rough around the edges for a garden, all things considered, and looked as though it hadn't been tended to in quite some time. Little white bugs flitted around every bush.

Dan walked straight up to the wall and knocked on it. She considered herself a resourceful kind of girl and the sound she received from knocking told her that this was a very solid wall indeed. She strolled further down and knocked again. The same sound met her and she snorted. She continued on her way for quite some time, waving little white bugs away whenever they tried to get into her eyes.

It was when she was trying to wave a particularly large bug away that she was bit. With a cry of dismay she inspected her hand, only to find the little white thing still attached. And it wasn't a bug at all, it looked quite like a girl in miniature with shining wings. With a startled cry Dan waved her hand frantically, trying to get it off. The fairy detached itself and giggled at her.

"What was that for!" Dan cried indignantly. The fairy giggled again and zipped off. Dan stared after it with her mouth hanging open.

"Well what did you expect, swatting at 'em like that?" Dan spun on her heal to find a gnarled little man glaring up at her grumpily. He waved a little metal spray can at her and she stared down at it mutely. "Y'need one of these to get rid of 'em. Filled with diluted pixie dust."

Dan attempted to find her voice. "Pixie dust." She stared at the dwarf, and he shrugged. "Arn't they pixies? Why would their own dust hurt them?"

At that he laughed and shook his head. "Pixies! Never. They're fairies, they are. Nasty little buggers, see what they did to my garden? I wasn't gone all that long either!" Dan glanced at the sad little shrub at her feet and decided to go the safe route and just not say anything at all about his garden.

"So, can you help me get in? Good Sir." She added the last bit on because she thought it sounded good. She was a little upset when he nearly fell on his bottom laughing at her over it.

"What do I get out of it?" He asked. She crinkled her brow and looked down at herself. She didn't have a whole lot to give. "Well, what about those?" He pointed at her boots. Her beloved combat boots.

She frowned. "They wouldn't fit you..."

He scoffed, "Not the boots, the laces."

Dan couldn't really think of a good reason not to. They'd be a bit sloppy on her, but she could always find something else to tie them with later. She unlaced them quickly and forked over the laces. The dwarf accepted them and said, "You could just go in the door." He gestured towards a section of wall she had determined was quite solid. There was now a door. She frowned at it. He tied one of the laces into a great loop and put it around his neck. The second lace he used to replace the string of a jangling pouch he wore at his side.

"How is that possible? I checked! It was a wall just a moment ago."

The little dwarf smiled at her in a slightly ugly way and nodded. "That was then, wasn't it? This is now." She frowned at him now, then back at the door. Finally she walked up to it and pushed it open. It slid open quite easily, as if the hinges had been just oiled. She looked into the labyrinth and saw... yet another wall. Two corridors split off, one to the right and one to the left. She made a face. At least one of them looked like it had a good hitting stick a few yards down.

She considered asking the little man to come with her but decided against it. She didn't particularly think he would follow and heroes were solitary things anyway. Maybe if she found a noble steed or something. Maybe. Instead she asked, "Whats your name, anyway?"

"Hoggle" He responded. Dan nodded distractedly and decided to go left. It was the direction that had the good looking hitting stick. When she picked it up she was disgusted to find it encrusted in glitter. She was beginning to notice a trend with this place and she was not entirely convinced she approved.

"See you later then, Hobble." She didn't hear him correct her because she was already walking down the endless corridor.

* * *

Sarah had tested her range and found she could get no further than the outer wall of the Labyrinth. She was surprised to find an open gate right next to her. She twisted in preparation to see if she could push the limit any farther, and was startled out of the motion by a familiar voice.

"Sarah!"

"Hoggle!?" Sarah laughed and rushed forward to give her friend a hug. He shuffled his feet with embarrassment. "Hoggle, it -is- you. Am I glad to see you!" He smiled at her, but his eyes shifted to the side and she became suddenly concerned. "Do you know anything about what's going on?"

"Oh, I don't know nuthin', Sarah, nobody tells me anything." She couldn't help but smile when he said her name. She felt the tug of its power, but the intent behind it had been to comfort her. He continued to rant, "Didn't even know you were here, I didn't."

"But Hoggle, you don't need to be told something to know it most times." She flashed him a knowing grin and he blushed at the compliment.

"There's a runner." Her smile disappeared instantly and he continued. "She just went through not too long ago, she's inside the outer wall now. She ain't as friendly as you were, seems to want to go it alone." He shrugged.

Sarah frowned as a very uncomfortable pit formed in her stomach, "Why on earth would he get another runner? Tell me everything you know about her."

* * *

As Dan trudged down the endless corridor she grew very, very bored. Her lace-less boots were loose and they caused her to shuffle rather than produce a good honest footfall. At first she started using the 'glitter stick', as she had taken to calling it in her head, as a walking stick. That grew boring pretty quickly, too, and so she started knocking on the walls with it every few feet. At one point she accidentally hit a patch of moss with eyeballs and they glared at her in mute fury.

She frowned at them and apologized because it seemed like the kind of thing you are supposed to do when you accidentally hit someone in the eye with a stick. She couldn't tell for certain but the eyeball moss seemed placated by her apology. After that, she took greater care to knock onto parts of the wall that were uninhabited.

She was pretty surprised when she went to knock and there wasn't anything to knock on.


	4. Chapter 4

I felt bad for making everyone wait so long, so here's another chapter up already.

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When Dan walked through the fake wall she discovered what looked like an honest to goodness labyrinth. "Finally." She said to herself. As she was considering a way to mark her passage she caught a glimpse of shimmering silk and dark midnight hair. She gasped and immediately ran towards the corner the vision had disappeared behind. "Hey! Are you the princess!?"

She continued to run because every time she thought she'd lost the dark haired woman she would catch another glimpse. She ran until she was completely out of breath and her combat boots had giving her at least three blisters. She had not expected the lack of laces to cause that particular problem. Eventually she stumbled and was forced to stop by the pain in her feet and shortness of breath.

Sitting on a hunk of crumbled wall Dan stared peevishly at the corner the woman had disappeared behind last. She leaned against the glitter stick and called out "Are you there? I'm here to help, you know!" There was no response and she huffed in frustration, trying to catch her breath. She stared at a tile in the ground while she wheezed.

After she caught her breath again and stood Dan realized the corner the woman had disappeared behind was completely gone. In its place were two shields with four strange little heads peeking out from behind them. Dan stepped over to the wall and realized they guarded two doors and leaned on the glitter stick while she contemplated them.

One of the top heads spoke first. "Why is she just staring at us?" His lower companion responded, "Don't know, perhaps she is a bit slow?" The second top head snorted a laugh and the fourth head spoke directly to her in an agonizingly slow way. "My... Dear... Would... You... Like... To... Pass?"

Dan watched it all feeling a tad grumpy at being assumed an idiot. "Yes, but which way do I go?" The bottom heads shrugged. The top left head was the one to respond.

"Well, we'll tell you, but one of us must always lie and the other only tells the truth." Dan quirked a brow at him. The right head continued. "Yes, also, you only get one question. Certain doom lays behind one door, while the other leads to the castle." The bottom heads nodded enthusiastically.

Dan licked her lips and contemplated. "So... if you're telling the truth, then one of you always lies and the other tells the truth." She pointed at the left head, then turned her attention to the right. "And if you're telling the truth, then I only get one question. Certain doom lays behind one door and the other leads to the castle.... But you could both tell the truth or you could both be lying.

The heads looked at each other, then back at Dan. The rightmost head said "No, you see, we were just to tell you the riddle, now we start for real. One of us tells the truth and one of us lies."

The left head piped up again. "Yes, and certain doom does lie behind one door, and the other will take you straight to the castle." and Dan responded only by sighing in exasperation.

"No, look here, if you both agree you can't one be lying and the other be telling the truth. You're contradicting yourself already, don't you see?"

The bottom heads looked at each other, then peered over the shield to their counterparts. "Now, she's got a point there, doesn't she?" The upper heads looked quite distressed. "No no no, we're just explaining the riddle, don't you see? Are you going to ask your question?"

Dan snorted and shook her head. "No, I don't think so. I think you've lied enough, both of you, I don't think I'll believe either of you now, and whats the point in a riddle if I can't believe you'll play fair? I think to make it up you should let me look down one hallway without entering."

The upper heads looked offended and the lower heads giggled. "I like this one." The right lower head confided to the left. "She's feisty." it agreed.

After considerable whispering and conferring amongst themselves all four heads determined that her solution was acceptable. Dan swung the left door open and stared down the hallway. It looked perfectly benign. She could hear the heads tittering in amusement poked the glitter stick into the hallway tentitivly. The end burst into flames and she squealed in surprise. Pulling it back she dropped it onto the ground and stomped out the flames.

Dan, trying desperately to show she was unruffled despite the fact that she was very ruffled, closed the left door and opened the right. The heads were oddly silent when she walked straight into the oubliette.

The left upper head broke the somewhat awkward silence first. "Well, I didn't know that would happen." and the bottom right responded. "Isn't left the correct door anyway?" The left bottom head shrugged, "I can never remember." The right upper head finished with "Well, its not like she played the game proper like, anyway." and they all agreed.

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Hoggle hadn't known nearly enough to satisfy Sarah's curiosity. She decided to hunt the girl down herself and ask a few questions because she knew the strangely absent Goblin King wouldn't be providing anything useful any time soon.

She tried to imagine what the girl looked like, based on Hoggle's description. Blonde hair in a long braid, white dress, black combat boots... Then she twisted. She'd never traveled with a person in mind rather than a location, let alone someone she'd never seen for herself, so she was pleasantly surprised to poof into the stone maze and catch a glimpse of white along with the tail end of a braid.

She started after her as quickly as she could, calling out "Hey! Girl?! You!" She wished she knew the girls name, because she seemed just out of reach and Sarah knew the importance of names in magical places.

She didn't know how long she spent trying to hunt the girl down but it seemed every twist and turn kept her just barely close enough to catch a glimpse here and there.

Finally Sarah saw the girl stumble and almost face plant into the cobble stones. She tried to rush towards her to help buta pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist, holding her still.

"Now now, she'll be fine, precious thing." Sarah attempted to turn to throw him a glare. It was met with a smooth chuckle and she scowled.

"What are you playing at, Goblin King?" She used his title, just to irk him, there was no power behind it. His arms were still around her and she was finding the fact more distracting than she would have hoped. In all their long awkward friendship he had never so much as touched her (the peach dream was her only exception and that certainly wasn't when they were friends). Now he had touched her twice. And hosted a kidnapping.

He let her spin around in his grip to face him, but kept his arms wrapped comfortably around her waist. "Taking you hostage, of course. It seems you've escaped the throne room." He pointed it out casually, as though it was the most normal observation in the world. Sarah continued to scowl and tried to push herself away from him. He let her go easily enough, but when she spun around to see if the blonde girl was still there it was only to find herself in the throne room once again.

Alone, of course, but for the goblins and one very irate chicken.

* * *

You'd think he'd take better advantage of a kidnapping and not keep abandoning her with the goblins, wouldn't you? Also, the irate chicken is reference to Lixxle's Rosalinda, because she is awesome.


	5. Chapter 5

More story. Because I like you. Sorry there isn't much Sarah in this chapter, though. Please don't kill me.

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The hands caught Dan before she hit the bottom of the oubliette. All of the air wooshed out of her lungs and she couldn't tell if it was a sigh of relief or the wind getting knocked out of her. She wheezed while four hands formed a disturbing face to speak with her.

"Well now. Up or down?"

"Up." She responded automatically and with the sort of self assurance she didn't think she'd ever actually feel again.

The hand-face scrunched itself in thought and said, "Down it is!" Dan gasped in surprise and fury. The hands started passing her further down and she clamped onto the thumb of one with all the strength she had. A face formed around it, apparently she'd grabbed its nose.

"'ERE NOW, none of that!" They continued to pull her down and she kicked viciously. Without a word Dan started to claw her way up the hands, using them for foot holds, hand holds, and occasionally kicking them into submission when they became too lippy. It was more difficult than she would have imagined because the hands were not inclined to cooperate. She found stunning them briefly and crawling up to the next set was the most affective.

When she made it to the top of the oubliette she found there was little to grab onto. She clung to the lip of the opening desperately and was more than a little dismayed to find a handhold come into view only in the form of swanky goblin-made leather boots.

Dan looked up, and up a little further, and very pointedly ignored that part and looked up again until her neck was protesting and she was looking into the very peeved face of the Goblin King.

"What do you think you're doing, little girl?"

Dana was convinced she could see the Goblin City between his ankles. She clung desperately to the smooth floor but found it difficult because the hands she was using for foot purchase kept shifting fitfully under her. She glowered at him "Saving that poor princess. Your Majesty." The inflection she used on his title was less than flattering.

The Goblin King knelt to look the girl in the eyes and smiled a pointy little smile that wasn't particularly nice. She frowned at him out of principle and gave one of the hands a good hard kick to keep it from squirming. He smiled a little wider. "You don't know a thing about her, dear. Are you so sure she needs rescuing?"

Dana pretended to contemplate his words for a split second before rolling her eyes and reaching for his ankle to pull herself up. "Of course I'm going to rescue her. Its just what AGH!" She did not realize how quick the king was and before she knew it lost her balance. The ankle she had reached for was no longer there. Nor were there any hands to stand on or grab onto as she fell. She yelled the whole way down.

She landed on the ground hard, but only hard enough to cause a few impressive bruises. When she looked up to the top of the oubliette she couldn't help but wonder how she hadn't died from the fall. There was, of course, no Goblin King to be seen.

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If someone had asked Dan what an oubliette was she would have told them they shouldn't make up stupid words. She now found herself in one, however, and she was well aware of the fact that she was in a dark hole that didn't seem to lead anywhere. There was a bit of junk piled on the floor. She called out, not expecting an answer. Sure enough, there was none. With a scream of frustration Dan beat on the rough wall of the oubliette.

When her anger was spent she sat next to a pile of junk and stared at it grumpily. How was she supposed to save anybody if she couldn't even save herself? And what was in that stupid pile?

With nothing better to do, Dan started digging through the junk. She found an old tea kettle, what looked like half a printing press, no less than eight buckets and, of all things, an iPod with some teeth marks on it. She tried to turn it on and discovered that it didn't work. Near the bottom of the heap she found a door frame with a little wooden door still attached.

She bent to pick up the door frame because it looked like there was something else underneath it. When she meant to set it to the side her hands slipped and it clattered to the floor with a crash and the door swung wide open. Dan gasped and looked down the hole that the door opened itself to. There had most certainly not been a hole there previously.

Because she had no idea what else to do, she closed the door and moved the frame to the side, knocking on the stone that replaced the hole. It appeared quite solid. She replaced the frame and opened the door again to reveal the hole once more.

The hole was very uninviting. It was even darker than the hole she was already in. She called down it.

"Hello?"

Her voice was met with an explosion of words that flew by so fast they sounded like gibberish. Dan watched as a tiny little man with wild hair and clothing made of rabbit fur crawled his way out of the new opening. He shook his fist at her in a way that wasn't nearly as threatening as he probably meant it to be. Grumbling he grabbed the handle to the door and swung it shut with a thud.

After some contemplation Dan picked the door frame up and shoved it against the wall. Upon opening the door she found a hallway. She tried to be surprised, but at that point she was just relieved to have somewhere to go again. After picking up the half charred glitter stick she set off down the hall.

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I'd like to think Dan is a somewhat interesting character. For the record, she's nothing like me. I would be crying in the corner.


	6. Chapter 6

Okay! Go and check out Chapter 1 again, because I rewrote it to some extent and I think its way better now!

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Walking down the hallway proved noisier than she expected. It seemed like every five feet there was an enormous statue of a face. That would be all well and good, she thought, if they would just stop talking already. Each and every face gave her dire warnings not to continue on ahead.

She had started ignoring them after her first conversation.

"Well, is that really the wrong way? I just came from there, its a dead end." She pointed down the long winding hallway. The face assured her it was.

"So, that means back that way, to the dead end?" She pointed to the way back into the oubliette. The face hesitated, as though this was more conversation then it had had in years. After a bit of thinking, it assured her that the way back was also wrong.

"Which way is there to go, else?" The voice assured her they were all wrong. At that point, Dan decided that taking advice from talking statues was probably a poor idea anyway and forged on ahead, heedless of their incessant warnings. The statues didn't seem to care.

---

The statue hallway eventually opened up to another hall. This one was much straighter. Since she was a bit turned around she had no idea which way to go. After a bit of contemplation she shrugged and turned right. It wasn't long until she heard voices.

It sounded a bit as if she had stumbled onto a poker game. A badly played poker game. None of the players seemed to understand the rules in the slightest. She crept closer and was surprised to find her path blocked by an enormous wall with various sharp and pointy things sticking out of it. Straight towards her. She frowned at it and listened to the hopeless voices.

"That ain't an ace, you idiot!"

"Wull, if'n it ain't an ace then what is it?"

"You left the jokers in the deck again!"

"Wots a deck?"

"Shut up."

"Here, you can't play that, it isn't an ace, didn' I tell you?"

"Well how much does a joker count for, then?"

"They don't count for anything, you shouldn't have-"

"Excuse me?" Dan interrupted. She didn't have time to listen to the mystery voices behind the strange contraption arguing. She heard several gasps in response and what sounded suspiciously like one person stepping on another persons fingers. "Hello?" It had gotten disturbingly quiet.

After a second of silence she heard something grinding and the wall in front of her lurched unsteadily. She took a few hasty steps back and watched in horror as the thing started to move forward. Some of the pointy bits even started twirling slowly.

"Hey! That's not... Stop it!" Nobody responded, but the wall started moving towards her more steadily. Dan took it as her cue to go the other direction. Very quickly.

The run was not as long as she remembered, but by the end she was out of breath and her feet hurt more than was reasonable. Her trusty combat boots were not nearly as good to them without their laces. She found herself headed straight towards a very solid looking wall. Without even thinking she slid to the floor and held up the glitter stick, hoping fervently that the pointy bits were not as long as the glitter stick.

It turned out they weren't. The machine crunched to a halt, hung up on the stick she held up above her head. She looked up to find see a swirly looking drill spinning feebly inches from her left eye. She heard the voices start up again.

"That's it then?"

"Looks like"

They started bickering as the machine made a loud clang and started running in reverse, leaving Dan to try and wipe sweat out of her eyes with a hand that wouldn't stop trembling.

* * *

Sarah paced up and down the throne room grumpily. Now that Jareth knew the relative extent of her power he had bound her even more firmly to the room. It just grated at her. She'd spent more time than she was willing to admit trying to break free of the cage he'd placed her in, only to find it just as secure as before she started.

As she paced her mind whirred. She tried to piece together the puzzle but kept coming up short. If he wanted to replace her with a younger model he was certainly doing a poor job of it. The girl looked nothing like her and from what Hoggle had told her their personalities weren't particularly similar either. Besides, the thought was so unnerving she had tried to put it out of her mind as firmly as possible.

She tried to think of another reason he would give someone the chance to run the Labyrinth. There was no kid to babysit for, that much was clear, and she found she had absolutely no idea what the motive of the little runner was.

Finally, sick of attempting to put together a puzzle without all the pieces, Sarah caught sight of something glinting in the light of the window. A mirror. A thought struck her and she pounced. The little goblin who had been attempting to put lipstick on with the mirror squeaked in surprise when she loomed over him from behind.

"May I?" She gestured to the mirror. The goblin simply ran. With a shrug, Sarah tapped on the mirror and whispered, "Hoggle, I need you."

He appeared almost immediately, looking concerned. Once she assured him she was fine she passed along her instructions.

---

Look I gave you more Sarah! Arn't you happy? Everybody loves Sarah.


	7. Chapter 7

Yay, another chapter!

* * *

Hoggle found the young girl huddled against the back wall looking pale. Dan was clutching the stick to her as though it was a life line. He waited for her to notice him or say something. She did neither. Finally he cleared his throat a bit awkwardly.

"Er, hello." He didn't use her name because she hadn't given it to him. Her eyes flicked up to him and back to the floor. The line of her mouth was grim and she did not respond.

"Are you... are you alright?" Still no response. He shook his head. This was going to be too easy and he didn't really know how he felt about that.

"I... I can take you back. Home. To the beginning." The offer was a gentle one, which is why he was so surprised when the trembling girl sprung to life.

"What!? The beginning?" She clutched the stick so tightly that her knuckles were white. "After all this, you offer to take me to the beginning?" The look on her face was a little terrifying and the dwarf took a stop backwards.

"Never." She snarled. "I will save her. How do I get out of here? Do you know?"

The dwarf looked beside himself. He could only imagine one 'her' that needed saving. He fiddled with his necklace which had once been a shoelace. Dan's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Now, I can't take you to the castle, all I can do is take you back to the start. Why do you want to save her? She's..." He trailed off looking a bit guilty. He had no idea what he was allowed to say, and the last thing he wanted was to betray Sarah's trust. Or, god forbid, have the Goblin King breathing down his neck again.

"She's -what- Hiddle?"

"Hoggle." He corrected absentmindedly. "Its just not what it seams like. You know? Nothing here is."

"I don't care, she needs saving, I'll save her." The dwarf watched her closely and seemed to come to a decision.

"All right. I'll take you as close as I can."

"Close to the castle?"

Hoggle looked a little put out, "Yes, fine, close to the castle." Dan relaxed, just a little.

"... Thank you." Hoggle frowned and lead her to the ladder that took them both out of the tunnel.

* * *

They emerged in a hedge maze. Dan snorted. When she hopped out of the pot that the ladder was inexplicably poking out of she noticed that there was a good two feet under the table it sat on that was filled with empty air. After checking down the pot and accidentally knocking heads with a grumpy dwarf, she crouched down to stare at the open space again. Her eyes narrowed and she frowned.

It didn't take them too long to traverse the hedge maze. Hoggle noticed that the color came back to her cheeks and she started looking a bit more lively the instant they were back in the sun. He kept to his word and lead her towards the castle and not away from it.

Eventually they heard the sounds of a scuffle. There was the odd shout and one of the most unearthly sounds Dan had ever heard. It sounded like an angry beast had been thrown through a bad sound mixer. She looked at Hoggle in alarm but he just scowled.

"Just ignore it."

Dan frowned. "It sounds like something is being mauled by a giant beast!" Hoggle waved away her concern. With another frown and a huff Dan started off in the direction of the noise.

Hoggle scowled at her back for a moment before trotting after her. He was beginning to see a common bond in this young woman and Sarah that he didn't particularly appreciate.

The sight that greeted them was one of chaos. There were what looked like goblins in large, goofy helmets cowering to one side while an enormous beast howled at them from the middle of the space. Between them was the most animated character she had encountered yet. It was hopping to and fro throwing the most outlandish and, in Dan's opinion, G rated threats she'd ever heard. The goblins looked absolutely terrified.

Dan stormed into the midst of it with Hoggle hanging back, muttering to himself.

"Now see here!"

The little animated animal turned to her in surprise. She realized he must be a fox dressed up as a knight. Her mouth dropped into an oh of surprise just as one of the cowering goblins smacked the little knight with the long pole it carried. The fox dropped like a stone.

Dan was so surprised she responded instantly. The glitter stick came down on the offending goblin's head with a resounding gong. The goblins fellows clapped while it tottered around dizzily. Dan knelt by the little fox knight and patted his cheek gently. He came to easily and stood up, holding his head.

"Perhaps one of you can tell me what's going on here?"

* * *

After everything had been explained adequately, Dan shooed off the goblins and offered to wrap Sir Didymus's head with a ribbon from her dress.

"What might I call you, m'lady?"

She made a face at being addressed as a lady. "Just Dan is fine."

Sir Didymus nodded sagely and bent over the back of her hand, giving it a chaste kiss. "Lady Dan..." He looked up at her, a slightly pained expression on his face. She couldn't help but giggle.

"You don't need to call me Lady, it does sound odd, doesn't it? I'd prefer to be a knight, like yourself." At her words, the little fox looked quite thoughtful.

"You aspire to be a knight?" He watched her closely as she nodded with enthusiasm. "Well! Then you shall be my squire. Squire Dan. Much more appropriate, don't you think?"

Dan grinned. "You'd take me as a squire? Really."

The little knight nodded, "Of course, after your display of bravery and coming to the defense of compromised individuals... I would be honored."

Dan could feel her cheeks flushing. She bowed respectfully and tried not to think about the fact that her head was -still- higher than his. When she straightened he was smiling at her.

* * *

I mean, really, how could they not get along fabulously?


	8. Chapter 8

Wheee!

---

Hoggle trudged behind the other three adventurers. He was watching Dan chat animatedly with Sir Didymus about the intricacies of sword play when he felt Sarah calling him again. He let the others travel on ahead a bit before slipping into mirror space and addressing her.

He gave her the full report about how the girl thought herself a knight of sorts and was planning to rescue a princess. Sarah listened to it all with a furrowed brow.

When he was done explaining things to her she nodded decisively and thanked him. "Please keep track of her. I still don't know what he's up to, but I don't want her to get hurt either. She doesn't sound like a bad sort, all things considered." Hoggle was relieved, he had grown to like the girl, even if she wasn't as sweet as Sarah.

They said their goodbyes and Hoggle found his way out of mirror space only to stumble straight into the Goblin King. The little dwarf shouted in surprise and dismay.

"Ah, Gibble. Just the dwarf I wanted to see." Hoggle scowled up at his King, dread setting itself quite firmly in his stomach. Jareth swooped closer, a crystal bobbing from hand to hand with studied grace. "I've got a job for you. I think you'll quite like it, you've proven good at it in the past."

Hoggle stood his ground and growled, "Never again!"

With a look of innocence that was less than convincing Jareth bent at the waist to look Hoggle straight in the eyes, his voice cool, "Not even for Sarah's sake, Hoggle?"

---

Ludo proved himself to be a big cuddly teddy bear and while Dan wasn't terribly fond of teddy bears in general she couldn't help but feel that he was a sweet tempered thing and it just went to show how strange the inhabitants of the labyrinth really were.

The bog of stench was a pretty interesting experience. At first Dan had despaired at the lack of bridge until Sir Didymus, with surprising accuracy, led them straight to a portion that had rocks sitting just high enough to create stepping stones.

Sir Didymus hopped gracefully from one to the next, telling her all about his faithful steed Ambrocious who had come down with a bit of a head cold earlier that day. While he talked on at length of the strange coincidence his steed would take ill the instant he heard a stranger had entered the labyrinth Dan tried to imagine a horse small enough for the little fox and couldn't quite wrap her brain around the idea.

There was one very tense moment near the end of passing the bog in which Dan lost her left boot. It pained her to see it go, but after the first one had sunk into the smelly depths she figured the second wouldn't help her any. It was even a bit of a relief to take them off and give her new blisters a bit of a break.

They had just caught sight of the goblin city when Hoggle offered her a peach. He was looking grumpier than usual but before she could ask about it her stomach rumbled its decision and she thanked him as she took a bite.

The peach tasted funny. Very funny. Her head filled with fuzz and she gaped at the dwarf before stumbling onto one knee leaning heavily on the glitter stick in an attempt to keep herself upright. She watched as Hoggle and the world was swallowed in black.

---

Dan found herself at the far end of a grand throne room. It seemed as though it was miles long and she tried desperately to remember why she was there. She only remembered that she was looking for something.

The throne room was filled with the most beautiful people she had ever seen and they were all watching her. She looked down, expecting to find a tattered white dress only to see herself clad head to toe in shining armor. She felt her hair and found it cropped short. She felt a little silly... of course her hair was short, it had always been, hadn't it? It wasn't long before she had completely forgotten why she thought it should be long in the first place and a white dress was the last thing on her mind.

In her hand she held the most beautiful sword she had ever seen. It shone gently in the light and Dan returned it to the sheath that felt only natural sitting at her hip.

The beautiful people just waited. Some whispered to each other and a few tittered merrily. Mostly they watched.

With the clarity that comes from dreaming Dan realized she was supposed to walk down the throne room. It was then she noticed its glittering king. He stood regally waiting and she hastened to walk to him.

The giggling from the crowd seemed to get louder. It was all she could do not to spin around and glare at the offenders. When she arrived in front of the king he motioned her to kneel. The silence was deafening and totally natural all at once. With a grace she didn't realize she possessed Dan slipped the gorgeous sword out of its sheath and handed it to the king with her head bowed. He took it from her and tapped her gently on each shoulder before handing it back.

She stood to the sound of applause like trickling rain, feeling her face flush with pride. In the first row of the audience she caught a glimpse of another knight. He stood tall with angular features and white streaked copper hair. She recognized him immediately.

The taste of his name was on the tip of her tongue when the wrongness finally caught up to her. He smiled at her, and she realized he wasn't Sir Didymus. Sir Didymus was a fox, wasn't he? She spun around to look at the king and found him frowning at her. Just behind him was a clock. The face had thirteen hours. Without knowing what to do she ran.

She ran down the ridiculously long throne room. As she ran the crowd started on her with open jeers and taunts. When she made it to the end she found a wall and without thinking slashed at it blindly with her sword.

The room and the dream shattered and she found herself floating downward.

---

Poor Hoggle. Poor Dan, too, it seemed like such a nice dream. How nerve wracking, my story is getting so close to finished. Thank you everyone for your comments so far, please keep them coming, I love to hear from you.


	9. Chapter 9

Okay guys, bare with me here. I feel like I'm losing you all. (all ten of you... .)

---

She woke amongst piles and piles of trash. Dan made a face and looked around herself. There wasn't much in sight besides trash. She could remember... something. She needed to do something. It was important, she remembered that much.

Looking down at her feet she realized she was completely without shoes. In a land full of junk she had to stare down as she walked to make sure she didn't step on something sharp and hurt herself. It was because of that she nearly ran straight into the old woman. She stopped just in time, however, and fell on her rump in the process.

The woman was stooped and gnarled and glared up at her. Dan couldn't imagine how she remained upright under the pile of junk that she carried on her back. "Now what did you go and do that foor?"

Dan looked at her, puzzled, "Do what?"

"Ran into me, of course!"

"But... I didn't. Did I?" Dan was nearly positive she had not, in fact, ran into the woman. She wasn't very well going to apologize for something she hadn't done.

The old lady seemed to consider her a moment before looking down at the young girls bare feet. "Well! No wonder you're so careless. Here, you need these, don't you? They're you're boots."

Dan was astounded to have her very favorite combat boots handed to her. They even had laces. Without knowing quite why, she sniffed them very tentatively. They smelled like leather and feet. Dan frowned, trying to think of what she could have possibly expected them to smell like. The memory seemed to float just in front of her, visible but just out of reach.

Before she could think too hard on it the old woman was shoving a stick into her hand. "This too, you'll need this. Good sturdy stick, this one." Dan looked down at it and found it glittered. It was so familiar, why had she needed a stick, anyway?

The memory of a beautiful sword sprung to mind just as the woman was shoving more things at her. Things she remembered from her home. Before she knew it she was being lead into her own room. The comfortable feeling of home washed over her as she walked through the doorway. The old woman continued to push her in, pointing out various objects and thrusting them onto her as though they were precious prizes.

It was the last object she showed her. A doll. Everybody was surprised when they found Dan, the biggest tomboy of them all, had a doll. It was a beautiful thing, too, with long raven colored hair, dark green eyes and a floor length dress fitting for royalty. A very familiar dress, in fact. Dan gasped when she finally remembered. The doll was a princess. She looked up and her eyes fell on the red leather book titled "Labyrinth" tucked next to her keyboard. Snatching the book up Dan rounded on the old woman.

"You're a distraction!" The memories came flooding back. "The princess is in danger, isn't she?" The woman looked genuinely confused. It gave Dan pause, but only for a second. "No, she is! I remember now!" She tromped her way out of the junk heap, completely uncaring of her lack of shoes.

The old woman picked up the boots and tied them to the heap of junk piled onto her back. "Don't know what princess she's on about," She muttered softly to herself.

---

Dan stormed the castle in a fury. She was angry at the distractions, angry with herself for slipping into them. More than a little angry with Hoggle. A quick glance at the first clock she came across showed her how little time she really had. She couldn't imagine what had eaten so much of her hours, except the peach dream was still fresh in her mind. She had -wanted- it to be real, she must have dawdled there much longer than she thought previously. Dan wondered if the tastes of peaches was forever ruined to her.

The throne room was easy to find, through the front doors and there it was. Its ornate wooden doors were opened wide and the room itself was entirely empty but for a wicked clock to the side that threatened to strike thirteen and one very contrite dwarf. She scowled at him.

"He threatened Sarah." He said simply.

Dan's eyes narrowed dangerously, "The princess?"

Hoggle's lip twitched, instead of answering he motioned down the only other doorway to the throne room, "She's down there, but he won't give her up without a fight."

Dan stared hard at the dwarf and nodded once. "You did the right thing, Hoggle. We can't let her get hurt." Without another word she walked down the empty corridor he indicated. He watched her go and marveled. She hadn't even thought he would come along, let alone try to convince him not to.

It took her to the most unnerving room yet. It looked as though it was composed entirely of stair cases. Across the room she caught sight of a flash of dark hair and velvet dress. She gasped and whispered, "Princess."

She braced herself for yet another merry chase, this one even stranger than the last. Her last failed attempt to catch up with the woman in the outer maze fresh in her mind. Always the woman was just out of reach. Finally, in a fit of frustration, Dan called to her back "Please!"

"Why do you fight so hard?" She nearly jumped out of her skin when the Goblin King's voice was in her ear. He was unnervingly close and she chastised herself internally for not hearing his approach. Spinning around Dan faced the King, snarling in a way she rather hoped looked threatening. He smiled in a pointy sort of way that made the back of her neck tingle with fear. So much for intimidating him.

She rather wished she had brought along the glitter stick. It would be nice to have something to hold between herself and the predatory king. Without it she found herself standing taller, "Its the right thing to do. Why did you kidnap her?"

He quirked a brow and prowled towards her. Dan quailed under his attention and took a few steps back. She stopped when she realized she had reached the edge of the walkway. "It was the only way, really." He shrugged.

With an impatient snort Dan pushed past him. He let her go with an enigmatic little smile. She looked around frantically for the woman and finally spotted her, stories below her own vantage point. The dark haired woman looked up at just the same time, her expression was decidedly annoyed and when she spotted Dan so far above her eyes widened.

Sounding almost bored the Goblin King piped up, "No, please don't." His voice was flat, with no inflection whatsoever. Dan cast him a suspicious look before jumping the great distance to the princess's side. The thought that she should fear the fall didn't register until she was halfway down and the world shattered all over again.

---

More world breakage. Funny how often that happens in the goblin kingdom.


	10. Chapter 10

Okay, I can't handle the suspense. I'm posting the last two chapters all at once.

---

Dan found herself in a space that defied all physics. The emptiness stretched on for as far as she could see, with odd bits of castle and debris littering it. She thought she saw a chicken in the distance, but dismissed it when she spotted the Goblin King. He looked slightly worn and a bit more... feathery than she would have expected. He stood alone on the little platform in the middle of nothing and quirked his head to the side as though he didn't quite know what to make of her but approved none the less.

"Set the princess free." Dan didn't even bother trying to be threatening this time, her voice was soft but demanding. There was that stupid thirteen hour clock floating behind the Goblin King's head and she only had seconds left.

"What princess, my dear girl?" Her lip twitched at the odd endearing term.

"The woman, with the dark hair and the green dress." The faintest smile flitted across his features and he gestured magnificently. Out of nowhere there stood the woman Dan had been trying to save. She looked absolutely livid. The dark haired woman opened her mouth to say something heated to the Goblin King but was abruptly cut off when he covering her mouth with one gloved hand, pinning her to him quite effectively. The other he held out to Dan with a dream crystal balanced precariously on the tips of his fingers.

"Just forget her. Look at what I'm offering you."

Dan frowned and the lines from her favorite book floated to her. She could practically feel the magic of the place and she whispered the memorized words aloud. "I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the goblin city." She stepped towards the pair and didn't notice the dark haired woman's eyes widen as she struggled harder to escape the Goblin King's grip. "Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have come to save this fair princess." She gestered to the woman who was now trying desperately to elbow the Goblin King in the solar plexus.

The Goblin King's eyes flashed, an unreadable expression crossing his features before he frowned and snarled appropriately. "No." His voice was soft and his attention was focused entirely on Dan, much to the chagrin of the woman he held captive.

"For my will is as strong as yours, and my kingdom is as great."

Dan took a deep breath, she had no trouble remembering the words, they were practically ringing in her head with power and importance.

"You have no power over me."

The King released the woman, who spun to glare at him. Finally free to speak she nearly screamed, "Jareth, wh...." His face scrunched with distaste at the sound of his own name, but before she could even finish her thought the not-quite-a-world faded into Dan's front yard with very little pomp. The princess sputtered to silence in confusion.

---

Dan was very surprised to find herself in her own front yard. She was even more surprised to find that the beautiful princess was also in her front yard. The princess was looking somewhat mutinous, however, and Dan was a little miffed she didn't appear more grateful.

"Its okay" She said as gently as she could. The older woman glared daggers at her. "You're safe now, see? I saved you." Dan was hard pressed to keep the pride out of her voice. She didn't look the part of a knight with her frayed white dress and filthy bare feet but she felt she deserved a little credit for saving the day.

The princess stared at her. Some of the venom leaked from her expression and her eyes softened. "You... saved me. What is your name?"

"Squire Dan."

Sarah merely raised a somewhat condecending brow and shook her head, "You're real name."

Dan faltered, "Er, Dana."

Sarah nodded, "Dana is a lovely name. Now, do you know what he is playing at, Dana?"

Dan frowned. "Who, the king? You don't even know -why- he kidnapped you?" She was feeling a little cheated. She assumed there had been some sort of grand reason the princess was in such peril.

The princess tapped her lip thoughtfully. "I really don't. Though its never been like him to let anyone know his plans."

Dan stood up straight and tall, trying to look regal. "Well, your Highness. My home isn't much, but if you need to stay here the night before returning to you're kingdom you are welcome to."

The woman looked startled, "Highness? I'm just Sarah, please, don't address me as royalty." She chuckled, "It would probably give him ideas."

Dan looked at her quizzically. "But... you're even wearing a crown." as though that was the determining factor. A dim part of her mind reminded her that anybody could wear a crown. Little girls on Halloween everywhere were able to attest that. The rest of her shushed it, though, and insisted that the beautiful woman standing in front of her was nothing less than a princess. Magic was at play, after all.

"I am not..." Sarah felt her head. Sure enough, there was a crown perched atop her brow. She sucked in a deep breath, letting it hiss through her teeth. "He didn't. He couldn't have. Oh, I am going to kill him..." She ripped the crown off of her head and tossed it onto the well manicured lawn. With a practiced twist she disappeared in a puff of glitter.

Dan made a small sound of disgust. Her adventure had just rubbed off the last of the damn poofing glitter and here she was covered in it again. She bent down to pick up the discarded crown, only to find it had vanished with its princess.

---


	11. Chapter 11

Sarah appeared in the throne room with a thunderous expression and completely oblivious to the pretty little crown that sat on her head. She stormed up to Jareth who lounged quite comfortably on his stone throne, and demanded to know just what he thought he was doing.

"Jareth, you will tell me what game you're playing."

Jareth smiled and toyed with the riding crop in his hands, "My dear, certainly you've noticed?" He looked above her eyes while he spoke and her lips thinned. She groped at her forehead once again to discover the crown had reasserted its presence there. She whipped it off and shook it at him as she spoke.

"What is this, Jareth. What does it mean?"

He stood then with the kind of boneless grace that would have distracted her on a better day and strolled over to stand in front of her. Once in front of her he took her hand quite gently and bowed over it, just slightly.

"Would you join me for dinner this evening, precious thing?"

Sarah bristled, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Dinner, dear girl, I'm asking you to accompany me on a 'date' as you call them Aboveground."

"Why now? Why this?" She gestured expansively, taking in their whole adventure thus far.

"My dear, you could not have possibly expected me to pursue a commoner, could you? You wouldn't let me just give you the title, so I had to find a different way." As he spoke he took the little crown out of her unresisting hand and placed it gently on top of her head.

---

The next few weeks were a blur of dull grey nothing to Dan. After having finally had an adventure, real life was proving to be something of a let down. She tried to keep up as though nothing had happened. Deftly avoiding comments about her lack of combat boots and throwing herself into mind numbing math, science, and history homework. The only fun she'd had the entire time was when her gym class had asked a martial artist to come and teach basic self defense to her and her classmates.

She was walking past her full length mirror when a flash of black and scarlet caught her attention. She turned to the mirror to see Sarah standing behind her reflection. She double checked to see that she was alone in the room and found the other woman was only in the reflection, "Are you real? Did I just dream you up?"

The other woman smiled and shook her head. "No, its real. Everything was real. I've..." She hesitated, then, looking a bit uncertain. "I just wanted to see how you're doing."

Dan smiled then. A brilliant, bright, and completely fake smile. "I'm... fine." She had always been terrible at lying, this was no exception.

Sarah smiled and nodded. "Its hard, isn't it? I remember..." She shook her head, "That isn't important, though. I am in need of a guardian and I have it on high authority that you are the one to go to." Dan simply stared in disbelief. "You're too young though, so you'll have to stay until you grow up a bit... You might want to spend your time practicing, though, you know?"

Dan frowned, contemplating the information. "You're safe now?" The woman in the reflection nodded. "Then I will train. When you call again, I will be ready." She stood straight and tall, trying to look as though she was deserving of her Highness's trust.

Sarah laughed with delight at the girls reaction and nodded to the furry head that popped up from behind the reflection of Dan's bed. Dan gasped, "Sir Didymus!"

Sarah nodded, "You need only call, and he will be able to help train you." The little fox smiled and nodded. Dan noticed her mirror was getting awfully full as more heads of the friends she'd made appeared. "They'll all come, believe me. They want any excuse to parade around in your world, though I can't fathom why."

Dan laughed and invited them all in. The following night was the best time she'd had in weeks.

---

Dana stood in front of the full length mirror. It was the same mirror as before, but now sat in the bedroom of her apartment, rather than her parents home. Her hair was short and she usually kept it spiked. Age had taken the roundness from her features leaving her looking sharp. Part of that sharpness was also due to her eyes and was accentuated with the easy stance she had learned through years of practice.

She had taken Sarah's advice to heart and enrolled in every martial arts, fencing, and self defense class she could find. She'd even joined yoga and pilates just to see if she could pull something useful out of it. She had. She'd pulled every useful tidbit of self improvement and fighting knowledge she could without burning herself out. With Sir Didymus's help she had turned herself into a modern knight.

All she lacked now was the royalty to protect.

Dana knocked on the mirror and whispered, "Princess Sarah?"

The woman appeared behind her and grinned from ear to ear. "You're ready, arn't you? You are just in time for the wedding!"

Dana quirked a brow. She had talked to Sarah occasionally over the years, but tried to maintain a professional relationship with her. The sort of relationship a knight would have for her royalty. This was the first she heard of any wedding.

"Sir Didymus has announced that I am ready to take my Ordeal. You are getting married? I look forward to meeting the man who won your heart." She smiled, a bit fleetingly, she was still a bit stiff when addressing the princess.

Sarah nodded. "Then you will stand at my side during the ceremony as my knight." She reached through the mirror and grasped Dana's wrist, yanking her through.

Dana gasped in surprise as she looked around her new surroundings. "But Sarah, this is the Goblin King's castle!" Sheer surprise caused her to use the woman's given name.

A silky voice interrupted her from behind, sending every hair on her neck to stand on end, "And you will refer to the future Goblin Queen as 'Magesty'."

---

And that's it. Hope it was worth the wait. Thanks for all the kind comments thus far! (Oh also, so sorry to the person who asked if Dan was a crossdresser or a tomboy, I tried to respond privately but without you having an account I can't. The answer is: female and a bit of a tomboy, yes.) I know I know, I take forever to respond. My memory is atrocious.

Anyway! Please please PLEASE tell me what you think of the end. Please.


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